Cork Film Festival gives short films an Oscar nudge

Come Oscar night 2016 in Los Angeles, some filmmakers may owe a debt of gratitude to the Cork Film Festival, which closed over the weekend.

It was revealed at last night’s closing ceremony that the festival had achieved the status of Academy qualifying festival, meaning this year’s winning Grand Prix Irish and Grand Prix International films are eligible for Oscar consideration.

The films in question — Grand Prix International Short More Than Two Hours /Bishtar az do sa’at, by Ali Asgari (Iran) and the Grand Prix Irish Short presented by RTÉ Cork, Anywhere But Here by John Hayes, have now been approved to enter the long list for the Short Film competition of the 2016 Academy Awards.